This invention relates to containers and packages for liquid materials which are removed therefrom in small quantities by an inserted applicator, and to methods of making such containers. More particularly, it relates to containers having an ornamental appearance simulating a collapsible tube such as an artist""s tube of oil paint, yet capable of holding liquid material for removal by an inserted applicator, as well as to packages including such containers and methods of making them.
In a still more specific sense, the invention is directed to containers and packages for cosmetic materials of types exemplified by mascara, to which detailed reference will be made herein for purposes of illustration. The term xe2x80x9cliquid materialxe2x80x9d will be understood to embrace highly viscous, thick and pasty material, e.g., containing dispersed or suspended solid ingredients such as colorants, as well as more readily flowable liquids.
In present-day commercial practice, mascara is commonly packaged in an elongated, rigid container having a threaded neck formed integrally at one end and closed by a cap. The combined length of the container and cap is not more than a few inches, and the cross-sectional dimension of the container is less than an inch, so that the container-cap package can easily be carried in a purse or pocket and held in a user""s hand. A substantially rigid stem bearing an applicator such as a twisted-in-wire bristle brush at its extremity is carried by the cap so as to extend into the interior of the container, with the brush immersed in the contained mascara, when the cap is seated on the neck; and a flexible wiper element is mounted in the neck for wiping excess mascara from the brush as the brush is withdrawn through the neck.
To apply mascara from a conventional package as just described, the user holds the container in one hand while unscrewing and removing the cap with the other, withdrawing the brush from the container interior. The brush, carrying a quantity of the mascara in which it has been immersed, is manually transported into contact with the user""s lashes so as to deposit the mascara on and comb it through the lashes, with the cap serving as a handle. This manipulative sequence of operations is repeated as necessary until a desired application of mascara to the lashes is complete. Thereafter the brush is re-inserted in the container through the neck, and the cap is tightened on the neck to effect liquid-tight closure of the container. The capacity of the container is sufficient to hold enough mascara for multiple applications.
In such a package, the internal configuration and dimensions of the mascara-holding container must accommodate the full length of the applicator brush and substantially rigid stem when the cap is threadedly seated on the neck, and must also be such that, as the body of contained mascara is progressively depleted by repeated removal of small quantities on the brush, the remaining mascara continues to be in contact with the inserted brush, to minimize waste of product. These considerations, as well as the importance of small size for portability and ease of manipulation, constrain the design of the container.
Typically, a mascara container of the described type is a unitary molded rigid single-walled plastic body of elongated cylindrical shape with a flat closed end, although containers of noncircular (e.g., more or less square) external cross-section are also known. While diversity and novelty in appearance are desirable attributes of mascara packaging (and of cosmetic packaging generally), heretofore variation in aesthetic aspects of mascara container design has generally involved provision of or changes in external surface appearance (colors, imprints, patterns) and/or superimposed ornamentation (applied relief elements such as metal bands), without substantially disguising or modifying the characteristic overall configuration of a conventional mascara container.
An object of the present invention is to provide innovative designs for containers and packages for liquid material products that are to be removed from such containers in small quantities by an inserted applicator. Another object is to provide such designs through the simulation of well-known containers conventionally identified with other types of products themselves having associations with the fine arts.
A more particular object is to provide such containers simulating collapsible tubes conventionally used for artists"" oil paints, as well as methods of making them. In important illustrative embodiments, these containers have utility for cosmetic materials, exemplified by mascara.
Yet another specific object is to provide mascara packages including containers simulating artists"" oil paint tubes.
To these and other ends, the present invention in a first broad aspect contemplates the provision of a container for liquid material which is to be removed therefrom in small quantities by an applicator, the container comprising a substantially rigid, hollow inner member having an open proximal end, a closed distal end smaller in cross-sectional area than the proximal end, and an axial length therebetween, the inner member tapering progressively toward the distal end over at least part of its length; and a flexible sleeve with an axial length greater than that of the inner member, laterally surrounding the inner member and having a first end adjacent the proximal end of the inner member and a closed and flattened second end disposed distally of the distal end of the inner member, simulating the appearance of a collapsible tube of oil paint or the like.
The container typically or preferably has a neck fixedly disposed in the proximal end of one of the inner member and the sleeve, the neck being engageable by a closure member and having a central passage through which an applicator, carried by the closure member, is insertable into the interior of the container for transporting a quantity of contained liquid material therefrom.
In particular embodiments of the invention, the inner member is a substantially rigid, hollow container member for holding a body of liquid material, the container member having an open proximal end, a closed distal end smaller in cross-sectional area than the proximal end, and an axial length therebetween, the container member tapering progressively toward the distal end over at least part of its length; and the first end of the flexible sleeve is secured to the proximal end of the container member. In these embodiments the container typically or preferably has a neck (as described above) fixedly disposed in the open proximal end of the container member.
As used herein, the terms xe2x80x9cproximalxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cdistalxe2x80x9d refer, respectively, to the end of the container at which the neck is located, and the end of the container remote therefrom, and to the corresponding directions along the long geometric axis of the container.
In certain embodiments of the invention, the container member and the sleeve are integrally molded of plastic, the second end of the sleeve being open when molded and being subsequently flattened and closed. The neck in these embodiments may be an initially separate member mounted in the open proximal end of the container member. A method in accordance with the invention for making the container includes the steps of integrally molding the container member and the sleeve of plastic, the second end of the sleeve being open when molded; and subsequently flattening and closing the second end of the sleeve.
In other embodiments of the invention, the sleeve is a flexible metal tube with a closed and flattened second end and an open first end into which the container member is inserted until the proximal end of the container member is pressed into the first end of the sleeve. A method in accordance with the invention for making a container of this type includes the steps of providing the container member and the sleeve as initially separate elements, the sleeve being a flexible metal tube with a closed and flattened second end and an open first end; and inserting the container member, distal end first, into the open end of the sleeve until the proximal end of the container member is pressed into the first end of the sleeve. The container member and the neck, in such case, may be integrally molded of plastic.
A still further embodiment of the invention comprises a thin walled flexible metal tube with an integral metal neck sized to accept a mascara wiper and mate with a conventional screw-on cap and mascara applicator, and, as the inner member, a molded plastic crush shield with an open proximal end. Initially the tube is open at its distal end, and to assemble the container, the crush shield is inserted (open proximal end first) into the tube through this open distal end. The distal end of the tube is then flattened, folded and crimped so as to mimic an artist""s oil paint tube. The geometry of the crush shield is such that it follows the normally resulting contours of a filled paint tube.
The invention in a further aspect contemplates the provision of a package for liquid material comprising a container including an inner member, flexible sleeve, and neck, all as described above, wherein the container holds a body of liquid material; a closure member engageable with the neck; and an applicator carried by the closure member and insertable into the interior of the container for transporting a quantity of the contained liquid material therefrom, the inner member having internal dimensions and configuration for accommodating the applicator therewithin when the closure member engages the neck. The applicator, in certain embodiments of this package, comprises a stem projecting distally from the closure member and having a distal end, and a brush mounted at the distal end of the stem.
More particularly, the invention embraces the provision of a package as described wherein the liquid material is mascara and the applicator is an applicator for mascara.
In the container of the invention, the simulated appearance of an artist""s tube of oil paint is achieved both by the flattening of the second end of the flexible sleeve at the distal extremity thereof, and by the effect of the rigid inner member in filling out the proximal portion of the sleeve, which resembles the way a contained body of oil paint fills out the corresponding portion of an artist""s paint tube. The distal tapering of at least a portion of the rigid container member contributes to this simulation.
It will be understood that by xe2x80x9ccollapsible tubexe2x80x9d is meant a tube, such as is conventionally used to package artists"" oil paints, which has a crimped straight closed distal end and a flexible wall initially filled out along at least most of its length by contained product (oil paint). As the paint is squeezed from the tube by manual pressure on the tube wall adjacent the distal end, the tube progressively collapses (becomes flattened), from the distal to the proximal end thereof.
An artist""s oil paint tube has pleasing associations with culture, creativity, and fine arts, so that a cosmetic package simulating its appearance has enhanced appeal for the consumer and affords consequent benefits from a marketing standpoint. However, a collapsible tube in itself is unsuitable as a container for a product, such as mascara, that is removed from the container and applied with a mascara brush (or like applicator implement) repeatedly inserted in the container to remove successive small quantities of product. The applicator, an axially extended and substantially rigid element projecting from the cap, must be fully received within the container to enable the cap to close the container, regardless of how full or empty the container may be; the progressive flattening of a collapsible tube that occurs as product is depleted would interfere with this requisite insertion. The present invention overcomes this difficulty by providing a rigid inner member of invariant internal dimensions for holding the product and receiving the applicator, while surrounding the inner member with a flexible sleeve that is distally flat but otherwise filled out by the inner member so as to look like an artist""s paint tube.
Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description hereinbelow set forth, together with the accompanying drawings.